We Could Have a Moon Base for As Little as $10 Billion

A big increase in a NASA budget could put a permanent base on the moon in six years.


Everything has a price, and the one for getting a moon base going might not be as much as you'd think. A group of NASA researchers, Google Lunar X Prize foundation leads, and other stakeholders assembled in secret in 2014 to put together a plan. That plan has now been published in New Space, and the total price tag is a mere $10 billion.

That sounds like a lot. After all, NASA's budget for this year is only $18 billion and next years is only $19 billion. It would take a big initiative to push that funding up by $10 billion just to get a moon base. But $10 billion is a drop in the bucket when compared to other federal spending, like the $1.3 trillion price tag of the underperforming F-35, or the $3,123,287,671 per-day cost to keep Health and Human Services open and delivering healthcare. Not that defense or HHS are unworthy programs, but NASA's budget, while large in you-and-me dollars, is pretty small as far as federal funding goes. 

If built, several very-Earthbound technologies would be utilized to drive down the cost and keep the base relatively self-sufficient. That includes electric cars, 3D printers, ample recycling, and other ways to use resources available on the moon, whether that's moon rocks or sunlight for solar power. 

There is, of course, another factor that could bolster travel to the moon: making it a public-private venture. In the framework, NASA would still control the moon base, but privately developed technology and launches could keep it running. The team believes it could happen in a five-to-seven year timetable if enacted, utilizing mostly existing technologies or ones near to coming to fruition. 

There are, of course, other loose plans afoot. There's heavy talk—but little action—of a European run "moon village." But unlike his predecessor, President Barack Obama's space plans have called for little to no investment in lunar travel save some orbit-only missions as testbeds for the Orion capsule. But with an administration change coming this fall, maybe the moon will be back on the horizon, and become a perfect launching pad toward Mars. Maybe even literally. 

Source: Universe Today

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